By Michelle James
Fayette County school officials Monday said they are disappointed but are looking to the future following Saturday’s resounding defeat of a $49 million bond call.
The call was rejected by Fayette County voters by more than a 3-to-1 margin. Only two precincts, Montgomery and Cannelton, supported the measure.
Had it passed, the bond, when combined with nearly $22 million from the state School Building Authority, would have consolidated Oak Hill, Fayetteville, Mount Hope and Midland Trail high schools and funded improvement projects throughout the county.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed because of what the bond could have done for our county and for our students,” Superintendent Chris Perkins said.
Board member Leon Newman also expressed dissatisfaction with the result, calling the decision “neglectful.”
“When you think about our county, we have just been so neglectful over the years, making decisions that would push us forward,” he said. “I think we have let a great opportunity get by us that would have enabled us to push our school system into the 21st century.
“The more things change around us, the more Fayette County remains the same,” he continued. “That’s just the tragedy, that we will not allow our county to move forward with changing times.”
The bond, county officials said, would have also helped with curriculum improvements and would have closed several of the county’s oldest schools.
Perkins, Newman and board member Leon Ivey said they do not know what will come next for the county, which is near the bottom in the state in terms of test scores and has been criticized by the West Virginia Department of Education for operating too many facilities for the number of students enrolled.
All three, however, say they will continue to work to improve the struggling school system.
“The facility, curriculum, safety and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) that prompted the bond call are still present after Saturday and all sides seem to agree Fayette County has issues to address,” Ivey said, adding he hopes new proposals and ideas will come quickly.
“Our students need us to continue working for better curriculum and better facilities for each and every one of them.”
Newman added, “It was a bad day for our system, but not the end of the world. Hopefully, someone can come up with another plan. We have too many schools and in having too many schools, we’re robbing ourselves of the revenue that it takes to run them.
“It’s kind of sad.”
Board president David Arritt declined to comment and members Steve Bush and James Workman were unavailable Monday.
— E-mail:
mjames@register-herald.com
